


Just One Last Time

by rosewell893



Category: What We Do in the Shadows (TV)
Genre: Amnesia, Angst, Canon Compliant, Coffee Shops, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Isolated Together, Long-Distance Correspondence, M/M, Middle Aged Romances, Mundane, Mutual Pining, Reincarnation, Road Trip, Secret dating, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:28:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26135785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosewell893/pseuds/rosewell893
Summary: Nandor meets an old friend by chance during a hunting session and sets off a trail of events that he went to great lengths to prevent from happening.
Relationships: Guillermo de la Cruz/Nandor the Relentless
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	1. A Chance Encounter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HeartlessMemo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeartlessMemo/gifts).



> I was tagged by chelsfic on Tumblr for the This or That Tropes thingamabob so I'm writing a fic. I skipped out on a few tags 'cause I do not know how to make 'em all flow together smoothly. Sorry. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Nandor stood on the edge of the multi-story building's roof, his senses trained on his environment. The night sky smelled of frost and emission, and the sounds of pattering footsteps and tires rolling on the asphalt streets filled his ears. Many of the humans walking the streets were all potential prey, but Nandor valued the sweet life nectar of an untouched virgin and how fulfilling it was over the blood of any average Joe or Jane, which he had been deduced to dining on for a while due to his own laziness. Tonight, he decided he would treat himself to a virgin feast.

Though however promising his chosen spot seemed to be at first, he found that, to his disappointment, very few virgins roamed about that night. Nandor sighed in frustration. He came all the way out here for something he could have had summoned from the comfort of his own home.

As he turned to transform into a bat and glumly depart, a gust of wind blew towards him, and along with it the faint remnants of a strangely familiar scent that drifted across his face and into his nostrils, a sweet and spicy aroma that sang a song of relief for his burning throat louder than any meager scent that dwelled beneath him. He felt his fangs elongate slightly and his stomach grip with hunger at this, and allowed himself to slip back into his primal instincts, letting any coherent thoughts melt away. He turned towards the direction of the breeze and inhaled deeply, taking the brisk night air and peak of the scent into his lungs.

He launched himself into the air with powerful force, his human form on full display to the onlookers below for only a few brief moments before he was engulfed by the dark shadow of pre-transformation. His bat form came to be soon after, making him dip in the air slightly from the sudden change which he remedied by flapping his wings to stabilize himself. Once he was steady, he took off towards the source of the mouthwatering aroma at high speed, his sharp wings cutting through the cold night wind like a hot knife through butter.

The blood that Nandor hungered after belonged to a coffee shop employee; a short, round man who was lifting bags of trash into the dumpster that sat in the alleyway behind the establishment. Nandor stared at the human intently from behind the corner of the building, listening to the pounding of a heartbeat that made the vampire drool on himself.

The vampire lifted himself a couple of inches above the ground and began to float over towards the unsuspecting human, his fangs bared and his hands in claw-like gestures. The alleyway was a nice spot to take prey, he thought to himself, away from the many prying eyes that populated the bustling city at night. Though this private setting was merely a bonus, for the blood Nandor was after was eligible to be devoured even amidst the busiest spot in the city.

Nandor hovered a mere foot behind the employee, who hadn't noticed the vampire yet and was closing the large metal lid of the dumpster. Once he finished, Nandor hissed loudly at him, his irises glowing bright yellow against deep red scleras. The human whipped his head around and gave a shriek of fear at the haunting sight behind him. He shot back, slamming his back against the dumpster and making it shift back slightly, his chest heaving up and down from his ragged hyperventilation. Nandor gave a dark smile at the human's reaction, but this grimace dropped and his eyes widened when he recognized the human's terrified face.

The wide and fearful eyes that stared at him were dark brown, and were protected by a pair of round silver-framed glasses. His hair was deep brown, short, and curly, with strands of grey that leaked more prominently into his short beard.

The man was Guillermo.

Panic set in the vampire's stomach and shot adrenaline through his body, throwing him out of his predatory state of mind. His eyes reflected the same fear that his former familiar's were glazed with and he subconsciously lowered his arms to his sides. He _knew_ that scent smelled familiar, but it was... altered, so he couldn't quite put a finger on who it belonged to. He was certain now.

" _Guillermo_..?" Nandor whispered, so lowly that it was nearly inaudible. If he wasn't so close to Guillermo, the human's lesser hearing wouldn't have picked it up.

The former familiar gave him a look of fearful confusion, "Ho-how do you know my name?" he barked, with a shaky tone that attempted to sound intimidating.

This response didn't ease Nandor's panicked state, it only amplified it. He acted on it impulsively, extending his arm out and opening his hand in front of the startled human, intent on hypnotizing him. This calmed Guillermo down immediately as he stared into the vampire's palm as if it were a swaying locket. This gave Nandor the assurance to go forward.

"You will forget everything about this encounter..." he commanded in a slowed and deep tone, moving his hand in a small and slow circular motion that the human's head followed. Nandor then released the human from hypnosis with the drop of his hand.

Guillermo tried to steady his blurry vision by taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes with his sleeve. This helped his vision, but not the light-headedness that hung in his brain as he replaced his glasses on his face. The sight he took in was a dark and empty alleyway that stretched out before him. What did he come out here for, again? He didn't remember. All he knew was that it was very cold outside and the inside of his workplace looked very appealing, so he headed towards the back door and re-entered the building. He preferred to try to recall what happened while inside of a warm building rather than outside on a windy 19-degree night.


	2. Troubled

The crypt Nandor retired to every morning seemed emptier than ever after the encounter with his former familiar. He thought himself recovered from the dire events of the human's final departure, but the re-opened hole in his chest and the way his mind immediately reminded him of the lack of Guillermo's presence in every corner of the house told him otherwise.

A small part of him wanted to just return to that coffee shop and bring Guillermo back to the house and back at his side, but a bigger and damaged part of him always butted those desires out by reminding him why the familiar had to leave in the first place. Either way, he couldn't deny just how lonely he truly was without his familiar to interact with. The other two vampires of the house suggested finding a new familiar in the past, and he tried to, but none of them worked out in his favor. They either died in some horrible fashion due to Laszlo's cursed hat or they reminded him so much of Guillermo that he had to let them go for the sake of holding together his already unstable composure.

Nandor let his head fall against the plush fur of his chair and sighed deeply. This would be the death of him. Why did the little human have such a sway over him, even after all these years?

The vampire's thoughts were bluntly interrupted by a loud knocking on his door. Before he could call for the offender to enter, the door began to slowly open, making a high-pitched creaking sound as it did.

" _Nandooor_...!" called Colin Robinson in a sing-song tone. The energy vampire peeked his head around the edge of the door and his excited expression faltered slightly when he spotted the aggravated vampire. "Oh, you're still awake."

Nandor huffed harshly in response, while eyeing the other vampire with a look that let him know his presence was clearly unwanted. Though that never stopped him before, and Nandor knew that.

"Yes, I am awake, Colin Robinson," he began, his tone dripping in an irritation that made the energy vampire's mouth salivate, "you can't ruin my sleep today with your made-up tune games or your needless questions."

The energy vampire flicked his eyebrows up in a challenging way, "Oh, I could if I really wanted to," he retorted matter-of-factly, "but I have to go to work this morning, so, you lucked out, huh?" Colin Robinson chuckled awkwardly at his own joke.

Nandor rolled his eyes, turning his gaze away from Colin Robinson to stare off into a far corner of his crypt in thought. Even without the dramatic gesture, Colin Robinson could tell his roommate was troubled by something simply by the way his energy tasted this morning. His usual aggravation was mixed in with the flavors of sadness and frustration. He hadn't had the chance to sample this particular mixture since Gizmo was still his familiar. Maybe _that's_ what this was about.

Colin Robinson saw himself fully passed the door and into Nandor's crypt. "Do you, uh... need to talk about something?" he asked, adjusting his crooked glasses to the top of his nose bridge.

Nandor snapped his head back at him, his eyes a dark black color that attempted to masquerade the hurt they held when his head was turned the other way. It didn't help, as remnants of the previous emotion lingered in them.

"No," Nandor barked, his voice gravelly and deep in warning, "leave me alone."

The cocktail of emotions turned sweeter with that added flavor of anger that soaked in through his response. Colin Robinson ignored this to the best of his best ability, despite not having eaten yet that day. He did feel a little hurt that one of his best friends didn't feel comfortable talking with him about his troubles, but he understood. Nandor was a tough nut to crack, and Colin Robinson's energy vampire nature didn't really allow for deep conversation without physically draining the other person involved.

"Okay," he said, his high voice signalling his choice to concede, "have a good morning, then."

Nandor's hard glare softened somewhat at the other vampire's compliance, but he didn't reply. Colin Robinson didn't mind. He could feel the vampire easing up anyway.

He swiftly made his way out of the room after checking his wristwatch, as he was running late for his shift. He loved to tap into the fresh, early morning energy he could milk out of his more optimistic co-workers. He could feel the vampire following him with his eyes as he left.

Nandor returned his head to the top of the backrest and shut his eyes. His energy vampire roommate was sometimes too nosy for comfort, Nandor had decided. Whether he was trying to be genuine and help him in this situation or if he was simply trying to find another outlet for energy draining, Nandor wasn't sure. What he did know was that he wasn't going to hand his fragile situation to someone who could potentially use it for personal gain, or worse, tell the others. He couldn't let them find out about his encounter, not after all the group had went through.

But those good points seemed to fade out of focus when he thought of seeing Guillermo again. Perhaps he could simply watch him from afar? There wasn't anything wrong with that. He couldn't disrupt anything if he didn't make his presence known.

While he was lost in his thoughts, the sudden sensation of sleep fell over him, making all of the troubles in his mind melt away. He was more tired than he had thought.


	3. Lunch Break

"Hey, hey, Guillermo!"

Guillermo lifted his gaze from the coffee mug he was washing and turned around to locate the source of the voice. To his delight, the upbeat tone belonged to Jeremy, his best friend. He gave the man a wide smile and waved to him with a hand that dripped wet with soapy dishwater.

"Hey, Jeremy!" he greeted back. The redhead wandered over to the ordering counter while Guillermo rinsed the mug and placed it in the drying rack. He grabbed the towel that hung on a rack below the sink and dried his hands, then manned the cash register.

"So, what can I get for you?" he asked, garnering an arm raise from Jeremy, who revealed a medium-sized McDonald's paper bag. He could smell the classic aroma of McDonald's fries as he acknowledged the bag. Jeremy wiggled his eyebrows and gave a goofy smile at the change in Guillermo's gaze that made the barista chuckle.

"I got us some lunch from ol' Mickey D's," he jiggled the bag when he said the fast food chain's name, "wanna sit down and eat it with me?"

Guillermo nodded, "Yeah, sure," he replied, while putting the towel back where it belonged. It was a little early, being quarter to twelve, but that was alright with him. He and Jeremy don't have lunch together very often, and the coffee shop's dining area was basically a ghost town. The ham sandwich and personal-size bag of sun chips would have to wait until tomorrow.

Jeremy perkily walked over to an empty two-seater table across from the ordering line area and placed the bag on the tabletop. Guillermo went around the barista station and joined him, bringing with him a couple of paid-for coffees.

" _So_ ," Jeremy began, in a suggestive tone that let Guillermo know he was in store for a gossip session, "what have you been up to?"

Guillermo sat himself down in one of the chairs and gave a dismissive shrug, "Oh, you know, same old, same old."

Jeremy gave a playful look of disbelief as he set a burger box in front of his friend, "Nothing new happened in the two years since I last saw you? Nothing at all?"

Guillermo looked away then, but he kept the same expression. "Well..."

Jeremy gave a long nod with an 'I knew it' expression on his features as he pilfered through the paper bag for the barista's fries. This brought a flush to Guillermo's cheeks. Nothing had changed since high school. Jeremy remained as no-bullshit as ever in his middle-agedness.

"...I had a little...episode, when I went to take the trash out last night," he explained, all while looking down at his intertwined fingers. Jeremy cocked a concerned eyebrow at that as he placed a box of fries next to Guillermo's burger.

"Episode? What do you mean?" he asked, as he sat down across from his friend. "You didn't have, like, a seizure or something, did you?"

Guillermo's eyes widened and he gasped, "Oh, no, no, no! Nothing like that," he reassured while chuckling softly, "I just had a little blank spot in my memory, is all."

Jeremy hummed in response, as he was in the middle of taking a large bite out of his Big Mac, and said bite left a generous amount of Mac sauce in his mustache. Guillermo gave him a judgmental smile as he pulled a napkin out from the table's dispenser and offered it to him.

"You've got a little something in your..." he motioned across his own upper lip with his pointer finger, and Jeremy dropped his burger.

"Oh, sorry," he took the napkin from the barista and wiped around his mouth, "better?"

Guillermo nodded, his own burger in his hands. "Much better."

Jeremy grabbed his fry box and pulled a little bunch out, "I wouldn't worry too much about the whole 'blank in the memory' thing," he popped them into his mouth and began chewing, but this time he put his hand in front of his mouth like a true gentleman, "I forget what I'm doing as I'm doing it. It's normal."

Guillermo raised his eyebrows at his friend's attempt at reassuring him, he wasn't going to say anything about that at all. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Jeremy eyed him with fake cockiness, "Hey, I _know_ I'm right, okay?"

He then cut the exchange short with a drop of his hand on the table. "Now, let's both shut up so you can eat your food. Your fries are getting cold."

Guillermo accepted the order by opening his burger box. It was a Big Mac, same as Jeremy's, though without the extra Mac sauce. Thank God for that, because he needed a stain-free shirt to work in, and he didn't feel like Tide To-Go-penning his shirt when he got home.

Maybe Jeremy was right. Maybe it was just a little memory loss from too much caffeine, or something. He really needed to sit down and think about all this, but in the middle of a lunch visit with his best friend wasn't the time and place to do it. He let the thoughts trickle to the back of his mind and enjoyed the company that was sitting in front of him for the rest of his lunch break.


End file.
